Independent Forensics of Illinois, LLC — Department of Homeland Security SBIR Phase I: H-SB015.1-001

Description

The goal of this project is to develop a validated, commercial quality reagent kit for the reliable collection of fingerprints (i.e., latent ridge impressions) that would subsequently be used for both comparison and DNA profiling. The kit would provide all required materials, reagents, solutions and would include a detailed protocol describing the steps to (i) identify latent ridge impressions (already a well-developed technique) using specific DNA-free powders, (ii) collect the revealed ridge impressions on tape lifts or hinge cards (again, using DNA-free versions of these tape-related items), (iii) recover the left-over DNA on the original item of evidence (i.e., the DNA that is not lifted by the sticky tapes) and (iv) once an image of the ridge impressions is recorded, extract, and purify the DNA from the sticky side of the tape lift or hinge card. The recovered, purified DNA would be used with any commercial DNA-STR kit. As the amount of DNA present on fingerprints or handled objects is extremely small, the kit will include reagents required for post-PCR purification and concentration- this technique increases the efficiency of capillary electrophoresis by ~20 fold. Our laboratory has significant R&D experience on the molecular biological methods for the collection, extraction and purification of DNA from limiting biological samples, including individual fingerprints developed with powders and in the following SBIR submission will detail the experimental approaches for optimizing this technique for the recovery of DNA from tape lifts and hinge cards, the current standards for collecting latent ridge impressions for comparison purposes.